Tag Archives: BM Singh

The dinner on March 19, 2016 which was hosted by Royina Grewal and her daughters, friends of Bittu Sahgal. Royina has a fabulously large place and it was warm and cozy. The Grewals and the Sahgal families are close and have been for over 40 years. Royina was gracious and generous to host the evening. It was simply fabulous. The accompanying pictures, and I have many more, tell the story.
– Vijay Khurana

On March 31st I shall cease to function as the President of OCA (India) and, at this juncture, it is only appropriate that I bid adieu to all the fellow members of the executive team and pen a few words for fellow OCs.

It was a steep learning curve to manage an organization without any authority to command compliance – to which I had earlier been familiar with. Nevertheless, some fellow members came forward to contribute time and effort and carried out work which many would find tiresome and mundane. Special mention in this behalf must be made of Neel Kamal Mehra and Ashwani Virk for their guidance and selfless work. Jaspal Sawhney was only a phone call away and credit is due to him too for helping us whenever we needed him. There were others who were critical and I thank them also as they kept us on our toes.

Such an Association’s primary object is to facilitate bonding and provide a platform for members to participate in furtherance of our objects but all this has to be on a voluntary basis. To this effect, an attempt has been made to update our data base of members with their latest coordinates and I sincerely hope that this exercise would be ongoing in the future. At the outset there was a feeling of exclusion among many younger members as they thought the OCA was a closed club. After much deliberation, the MOA was suitably amended for them to come on board as executive members of various chapters and the central body. Progress has been achieved in this behalf but I would appreciate it if even a larger number of later batches participate in these bodies. Even though an attempt has been made to put the Association on an even keel, much requires to be done at the Chapter level to involve members. We have a vast talent pool among our members and I urge them to step forward to attain our objects.

During our tenure we did take some initiatives such as extending monetary help to OCs in need to meet hospital bills or to undertake a climb of Mt. Everest (during the coming season). The celebrations of the Golden and Silver anniversaries of leaving school were formalized and I am glad that each of these classes made valuable additions to the school’s infrastructure. As a result we have a refurbished staff room, a visitor’s waiting room and the school swimming pool has a filter. A major project undertaken by the OCA last year was the installation of a Solar heating system for the main school and after its success a similar one has been ordered for the junior school. Besides providing a greener environment, it reduces drastically the school’s fuel bill. The ‘To do’ list is endless and I wish Sukhinder Singh and his team the very best in their task ahead.

Last but not the least I wish to thank D.C.Anand for his invaluable guidance and help to our Association and to the infrastructure placed at our disposal with the great assistance provided by Ms Gopa Seal of his company.

The matter relating to visits of OCs to the school was discussed with the Headmaster and he was informed of the apprehensions expressed by some members of being shut out of the campus and not being allowed to visit their Alma Mater.

Mr Robinson assured me that the old boys are always welcome to visit the school but the entry of visitors has to be balanced with the need to avoid disturbance of school routines and the present day security issues ( regarding which he has received a communication from state authorities). Hence, OCs are advised to call and seek permission before visiting the school and, if this was not possible, to wait awhile at the gate while the security gets a clearance from the Headmaster/Senior Master.

In addition, he assured me that they can visit anytime from 3pm to 5pm on weekdays and through out the day on Sundays when classes are not in session.
It must be understood that students do get disturbed when classes are in session and visitors are seen on the first flat.

I would also like to request the Chapter Heads to issue some sort of ID cards for OCs as this would make it easier to distinguish them from other visitors and meet the needs of security. They must also maintain proper decorum on their visits and not create any disturbance as, by doing so, they shall set an example for the school kids to emulate.

Mrs DeMellow was hospitalised in August, 2012 after a pelvic injury and was operated upon by Dr Pradeep Sharma, an eminent surgeon, at the Holy Family Hospital. She continues to make excellent progress. She is now able to stand and walk around with a bit of support.

There is now compelling pressure from the Hospital, though one must compliment them for their compassion, to effect her early discharge lest she contract a hospital infection. Mr Ishwar Bhatia, her principal care giver, family friend and guardian has been frantically trying to find an old age home for Mrs DeMellow. He is of the opinion that she can no longer live by herself even with the support of staff since she needs full time medical assistance. She needs greater support and has now finally reconciled to an idea that she had resisted for far too long.